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Mortgage applications continued to fall last as long-term fixed mortgage rates rose, the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mbaa.org/default.htm (MBA) reported Wednesday.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]According to the association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, applications saw a weekly decrease of 4.2 percent for the week ending October 12. The results include an adjustment to account for the Columbus Day holiday, the MBA reported.
The weekly Refinance Index also decreased, falling 5 percent from the previous survey. The refinance share of mortgage activity dropped from 83 percent of total applications in the last survey to 82 percent. The HARP share of refinance activity saw a pickup from the previous week, increasing four percentage points to 22 percent.
Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index rose 1 percent to its highest level since early June this year.
According to the MBA, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages (with non-jumbo loan balances) increased a single basis point to 3.57 percent.
